Two Paddles in Downeast Maine

Hi Blog!

This is a tale of two paddles. One salty and the other fresh.

Paddle One:

We don't often get a chance to kayak right from our campsite, but Seaview Campground in Eastport, Maine is located right on the shores of Passamaquoddy Bay. The rocky beach makes for easy put in and take out. With strong currents and high tides, we were advised to only go out one hour before high tide up to one hour after high tide. We waited for a day with low winds and were rewarded with a quiet paddle late in the day on July 31, 2021.

Passamaquoddy Bay is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River. The rocky outcroppings along the shore almost disappear during high tide. This seagull is holding out until the bitter end.

The campground boat dock is a favorite spot to bring your chairs down and watch the sunrise.

The rocky point at the north end of Harris Cove makes for a great spot to spot the Old Sow whirpool. Our cabin neighbors found it to be the perfect spot for Happy Hour.

We heard talk around the campground that a pair of bald eagles lived next door and they had two juveniles in the nest. Secluded from the wind, the water in the cove was smooth as glass.

We found the bald eagle nest at the end of the cove. Only the kids were home. Mom and Dad must have been out fishing.

What we thought was a peninsula during low tide, turned into an island during high tide. The average tide change is close to 10 feet.

We decided to see what was around the far end of our beach. We paddled around the point and entered Johnson Cove. With the winds picking up and the tide about to turn, we returned to camp. While it was really cool to be out in the bay, we find we are more flatwater folks.

Paddle Two:

On August 1st, we decided to explore one of the many fresh water lakes in the area. We chose Meddybemps Lake because it boasted a number of islands and part of the shoreline bordered the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. The lake's name comes from a Passamaquoddy term meaning “plenty of alewives,” that originally referred to the bountiful fish found in Meddybemps Lake.

We launched our kayaks from the town dock and was surprised to find a boat inspector on duty in such a small launch area. Since we were just kayaks, she didn't need to inspect us. However, many residents along the shoreline put their boats in here and run them over to their houses for the season. Just to prove her point, a large pontoon boat pulled in, and we had to work our way around them to get our kayaks in the water.

As we paddled our way around the lake shore, we startled a flock of Canada geese. 

The winds across the lake were higher than we anticipated. So much for accurate weather forecasts in Downeast Maine. We kept close to shore to avoid the waves and try and spot wildlife.

The rocky shoreline kept most of the speed boats and jet skis in the center of the lake. We had plenty of the lake all to ourselves.

We even encountered a beaver lodge.

Kathy ventured further from shore to visit with a rock buddy. She almost lost her hat as a big gust of wind came up from behind and lifted her hat and set it adrift on the surface of the lake. She was eventually able to catch up with it. On the bright side, the hat is much cleaner now.

Some of the islands in the lake contained cottages and boathouses. 

Other island were so small only plants could survive.

We stopped for lunch at a boat dock that was part of the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. We thought we might be able to hike a ways into the refuge, but the only road that once led to the dock was mostly overgrown, and we only wore sandals, so we took a pass on that adventure. However, the dock made a great picnic spot.

We got a chance to stretch our legs while we ate our sandwiches. We thought about continuing along the shore next to the Wildlife Refuge, but the winds and speedboat traffic picked up as the day warmed up. We decided to head back to the boat launch and vowed to pick a smaller and quieter lake next paddle.

We'll leave you with this peaceful scene that presented itself to us as we ate our lunch: